American multinational clothing brand GAP seems to have made a strong foothold in the Indian market, ever since its first store launch at Select City Walk in South Delhi, last summer 2015. The clothing brand partnered with one of the country’s largest textile companies, Arvind Lifestyles Brand Ltd, and in addition to this, the company is planning to launch 40 stores around India.
Recently GAP landed its feet in Mumbai and worked with Mumbai's iconic dabbawalas to deliver a dabba and greet a hello in true Mumbaikar style.
As part of the activity executed by Toast Events, the dabbawalas made way through the streets of the city with invites to the store launch and an iconic GAP logo tee for the recipients, stirred by social buzz with celebrities like Ranveer Singh, Nishika Lulla, Anushka Manchanda, Shibani Dandekar, Karan Patel, Krystle D’Souza and Karanvir Bohra tweeting their excitement about the store’s opening. The activity resulted in almost 1000 posts on Instagram and twitter which garnered over 7.2 million impressions in a day.
Here is what Harshad Chavan, Director Toast Events, had to say…
Q. What was the concept of the activity?
Toast Events took up the challenge to take Mumbai by storm and created a massive buzz prior to the launch. The agency devised an impactful month-long plan with a combination of digital campaign, and on-ground activations. We devised a 360 degrees approach with experiential marketing and digital marketing going hand-in-hand.
The campaign began with dubsmash booths that were designed for college fests (St. Xaviers, IIT Bombay & NM College). This was followed by the dabbawala activity that was used to send across special GAP branded dabbas as invites to the influencers, celebrities and corporates across Mumbai. The same dabbawala flavor was maintained during the launch as Ranveer Singh made an entry on a cycle with GAP dabbas. The lezim dancers, drum rolls and tutari music added more to the look and feel of the store launch.
Q. How many people did you engage during the activity?
As per the reports, digitally we managed to reach about 10 million people. Our Dabbawala video as a part of the activity reached out to 230 influencers, bloggers, celebrities, RJs and corporates managed to get a reach of over 400K in less than 48 hours of posting it.
Q. Working with a celebrity at a crowded mall in Mumbai isn’t really easily manageable, so how did you go about it? Were there any other challenges that you faced during the activity?
Ranveer has a huge fan following and it was only apparent that there was going to be a massive turnout by them to catch a glimpse of their favorite star. His fans began queuing outside the mall as early as 7 ‘o’ clock in the morning. Security movement and crowd management was a big challenge at the launch. However, we were prepared for the same! Our meticulous planning prior to the launch was developed in collaboration with the mall authorities to ensure smooth flow of event.
Q. What was the response of the people you connected with?
Almost everyone who heard about the dabbawala activity was thrilled about receiving the dabba while many others reached out to us requesting for a dabba too. Besides, the dubsmash booths also helped the brand to connect with the youth instantly. The mid-night launch with surprise discount vouchers raised curiosity amongst the shoppers and ensured queues outside the store even at late night hours.
Q. What were the key highlights of the activity?
The posts about receiving the dabbawala invites by corporates like Red Chillies Entertainment, Grofers, Taj Lands End, Zomato India and Go Cheese to name a few added large amount of value to the campaign.
Q. Considering, you launched GAP in India with the activity what was the brief given and how did you live up to it?
The brand gave a clear brief that they wanted to create a huge buzz in Mumbai city and were prepared to opt for creative and edgy ideas to reach out to the people. They desired to adapt to the local market and speak to them in their language to send a clear message. The brand was aware that Mumbai is a challenging city as it already has so much to offer that it was imperative to do something unique in order to make a mark and leave a lasting impression.
Q. What are some of the other activities you look forward to executing with the brand?
Many more store launches across the country!
Q. You ran a successful social media campaign with the brand as well. What were the impressions you created?
As per the last report, we had over 10 million+ Impressions over the entire campaign.
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